QA__final_9_13_21_0001.xls
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- Solicitation number
- 1605C3-21-R-00011
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| Non-FECA Pharmacy Based Management Services Q&A Worksheet RFP 1605C3-21-R-00011 | ||||
| Question Title | Section Number | Clarifying Question | Government Comment | |
| Solicitation Due Date | Solicitation/Contract/Order (page 1) | Because of the extensive information requested, as well as the time needed to underwrite the pricing offer, would the Government consider extending the deadline of this solicitation to allow offerors 60 days to respond? | DOL will extend the proposal due date to October 19, 2021 at 5:00pm (ET). | |
| Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) | QASP - | |||
| Technical Exhibit 1 - Performance Requirements Summary 1.13 (page 16) | Performance Threshold is defined as "The minimum acceptable level is no less than 100% of all urban pharmacy benefits material and services." |
Please define "pharmacy benefits material and services." Is the Government is requiring the contractor to have pharmacy network contracts will 100% of the retail pharmacies located in urban areas? Would exceptions be made for pharmacies that do not qualify for inclusion in the contractor's network? The Offeror should review 5.1 (Basic Services) of the PWS for an understanding of pharmacy benefits materials and services.
The Offeror should review section 4.6 of the PWS (List of Pharmaceutical Networks for the Areas to be Served). The Offeror should also review 5.2.1 (Pharmacy Networks) and corresponding subparts. The QASP has been updated to reflect the PWS.
Pharmacy Networks Solicitation Sections 4.6, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.5, and
| 5.2.6 | Offeror has the ability to offer deeper network discounts by offering a narrower network comprised of a limited number of pharmacies that still provides robust access and minimizes claimant travel. Offeror understands the requirements of Section 5.2.6 to make every effort to provide network access to non-network pharmacies at which utilization exists. May such non-network pharmacies continue to be excluded from network in order to maintain pricing available at network pharmacies or because such pharmacies does not agree to bidder’s pharmacy network terms and conditions, including pricing? | The Offeror should review requirement 5.2.6 "The contractor shall reimburse non-network pharmacies for prescriptions at OWCP’s pharmacy fee schedule at point-of-sale and make every attempt to bring those pharmacies in-network." Offerors should communicate their solution based on industry best practices. | ||
| Denial of Pharmacies to be Included in Contractor's Network/Appeals Process | Solicitation Section 5.2.3 | Section 5.2.3 requires contractor to develop an appeals process for pharmacies. What is the scope of the appeals process (e.g. limited to network access or also reimbursements)? What standard of review is contractor to apply in the appeals process? | The scope of the appeals process for requirement 5.2.3 refers to appealing network access. The government will consider all standards of review. Dependng on the appeal, numerous levels of review may be needed including review by OWCP. | |
| Organizational Conflict of Interest Mitigation | Solicitation Section I.6 - | |||
| DOL 2012001 Organizational Conflict of Interest Clause (pages 97-99) | PBM offerors submitting proposals in response to this solicitation may have corporate affiliations with retail, mail, or specialty pharmacies. If an offeror proposes a network that includes an affiliate pharmacy, would such an arrangement result in a situation in which the contractor would be called on to evaluate an affiliate or the services of an affiliate requiring a mitigation plan for impaired objectivity? | Offerors should provide a mitigation plan, if this may occur. | ||
| PMP Requirement for PM and Alternate PM | Section 1.16 - Key Personnel (pages 33-34) | Is PMP certification required for both the PM and the Alternate PM? If so, if the PBM certification is in progress and will be completed before the program start date, does this meet the requirement? Alternatively, can an advanced degree (masters) and/or extensive relevant experience (10+ years) be substituted for the PMP certification requirement? | Page 34 - "The proposed PM and alternate PM must hold a current Project Management Professional (PMP) credential." The PMP credential must be completed and current at the time of the submitted proposal for the government to evaluate proposals. A masters degree or experience can not be substituted. | |
| Pricing clarification #1 | Volume III - Factor 3 (Price/Discounts) | Would the DOL be willing to consider cost-plus pricing models? In this type of model, we would charge a fixed admin fee for each prescription fill plus the amount we reimburse the pharmacy. We would provide minimum discount guarantees for the amount paid to pharmacies. These guarantees, a BER and GER (brand and generic effective rates respectively) would be expressed as percentages off of AWP and would provide surety to the DOL that they would pay no more than a certain percentage off of AWP. If this is acceptable then we will use the current worksheet but document the fact that the rates represent a BER/GER. | The government is not opposed to an Admin CLIN, the preferred approach would be for an additional firm fixed price CLIN to cover Admin related changers. The proposal should fully explain what admin charges would encompass. | |
| Pricing clarification #2 | Volume III - Factor 3 (Price/Discounts) | Would the DOL be willing to consider a pricing model where 100% of the rebates received are passed on to the DOL? This would provide the DOL with full transparency into the rebate dollars received in these programs. | Yes, Offerors, should apply their rebates to the Offeror Discount and Rebate Workbook. | |
| Technical Proposal | SECTION L-INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS | Pg. 139 of solicitation states “Personnel” under "Proposal Part". Also, on page 140 it states "Personnel (5.1.2.)", however there is no section 5.1.2 titled "Personnel". Can Government please clarify what is expected in the "Personnel" section as it is not found in Part 5 Specific Tasks? | The Personnel section and its expectations can be found in section 1.14. | |
| P&T | Part 5 Specific Tasks, 5.11 Formulary Management, 5.11.1 Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee | It states on page 35: "The Contractor shall provide access to a Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee (see Encompassing Formulary | ||
| Management for a further description of requirements)". Can Government further explain what they mean by 'providing access' to a P&T Committee? | The Offeror should have a P&T Committee on staff within their organization, or subcontract a P&T Committee to perform all relevant requirements. | |||
| Key personnel certifications | 1.16 Key Personnel | Please confirm that the PMP ceritification for the Program Manager and Alternate Program Manager are required at time of contract award and not proposal submission | Incorrect. A PMP certification is a requirement at time of proposal submission for the government to evaluate proposals. | |
| Key personnel certifications | 1.16 Key Personnel | Please confirm that certifications for personnel are required at time of contract award and not proposal submission. | Incorrect. Certifications are a requirement at time of proposal submission for the government to evaluate proposals. | |
| Provider Enrollment | Part 5 Specific Tasks, 5.2 PHARMACY BENEFITS MANAGEMENT (Task One), 5.2.15 Provider Enrollment | Due to the sensitive nature of provider banking information that is protected under contract, can the Government please provide their reasoning of why this information is needed considering the PBM will be paying the pharmacies directly. | The banking information does not need to be produced for each pharmacy for the proposal response, although the banking information must be disclosed to OWCP if certain situations occur, such as a fraud, waste, or abuse. | |
| Dedicated personnel | 1.15 and 1.16 Key Personnel | Can the Government explain the difference between the Contract Manager and the Program Manager? The descriptions on the RFP appear to be very similar. | The contract manager has been deleted. | |
| Security Requirements | SECTION L-INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS | It states on page 139: "Security Requirements (5.1.1 and all subparts)", however, there is no 5.1.1 in the solicitation. Can the Government elaborate on which section they are referring to and what is expected in the "Security Requirements" section? | This should state PWS section 1.9 and all subparts. | |
| Presentation | SECTION L-INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS | Can the Government please confirm if there will be finalist presentations (regardless if they are in-person or remote)? | The government has not determined if presentations will be necesssary. The government will notify Offerors if presentations will be required. | |
| Subcontracting Plan Requirement | Attachment J-11 - | |||
| Subcontracting Plan Summary Sheet | 1. If an offeror does not subcontact any of the core PBM services required in this solicitation, would the offeror be exempt from the Subcontracting Plan requirement? 2. Alternatively, could subcontractors that are utilized to support the core PBM services required in this contract be listed to meet the subcontractor requirements specified in section C of Attachment J-11? | Question 1- DOL highly encourages offerors to give their best effort to meet the subcontracting goals as outlined in the RFP and submitted via the subcontracting plan summary sheet. See FAR 19.7 -The Small Business Subcontracting Program Question 2-Yes. | ||
| Subcontracting Plan Requirement | Attachment J-11 - |
Subcontracting Plan Summary Sheet
| Solicitation - Subcontracting Goals (page 146) | The subcontracting requirements are much higher than we have seen in previous Federal Government bids, especially the Small Business (all types) requirement of 60%. In other Goverment solicitations, the Small Business requirement has been in the 30% range. The 60% requirement could be unattainable for offerors and could limit competition for this solicitation. Would the Goverment consider lowering the target percentages listed on page 146 of the solicitation (Subcontracting Category Percentage Goals)? | DOL highly encourages offerors to give their best effort to meet the subcontracting goals as outlined in the RFP. See FAR 19.7 -The Small Business Subcontracting Program. Awardees have been successful with achieving the targeted percentages submitted in DOL’s solicitations that meet the requirements in FAR 19.7. | |
| Deviations to Contract Terms & Conditions and Offeror Representations & Certifications | Solicitation Section I - Contract Terms and Conditions (pages 79-84) and | ||
| Section K - Offeror Representations and Certifications (pages 117-135) | If offeror must edit the solicitation (including edits to FAR provisions that may not apply to the contract type), is it appropriate for the offeror to communicate deviations via a comment box? | Please submit any assumptions re: the FAR Provisions in your proposal. | |
| Proprietary and Confidential | SECTION L-INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS, 7. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION | It states on page 138: "The offeror’s proposal shall consist of four separate volumes. The Volumes are I-Technical Approach, II Past Performance, III-Price/ Discounts IV-Mandatory Criteria. Files shall not contain classified data." |
However, it states on page 140: "Proprietary information shall be clearly marked. The following shall be included in the Narrative discussion."
| Will offerors' proposals be considered proprietary and confidential? | For clarity, Offerors shall mark proprietary items within the proposal as neccessary. | |||
| Evaluation | SECTION L-INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS | It states on page 137 that: "To determine which firm represents the best value, the offers will be evaluated as outlined below." Can the Government elaborate on how the different volumes will be weighted against each other? | See section M-Basis for Award. | |
| Testing and Diagnostics | We noticed that offerors are required to price diagnostics and testing in CLINS 0001-4001 but there is no directive to respond to this later in the solicitation. The mention of pricing for diagnostics and testing is referenced on pages 2-4, pages 6-7, page 9, page 11, page 13, page 15, and page 17. However, after that, diagnostics and testing is only mentioned again under Part 2 – Definitions and Acronyms on page 37, a quick reference of “diagnostic records” under 5.10.2 on page 51, and again on page 72. |
Is this meant to be spoken to? If so, could the Government provide an updated solicitation with the questions offerors are to respond to? All references to diagnostic and testing are removed from the PWS and solicitation documents
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